Intel and Honeywell partner to make logistics smarter

Microprocessor company Intel and industrial automation giant Honeywell have announced that they are forming a partnership in a bid to make the shipping and logistics industry smarter with IoT technology.

To coincide with the expansion of this partnership, on Thursday Intel announced its Connected Logistics Platform, which aims to give companies an insight into their assets.

Using the system while assets pass through the supply chain, companies can make more informed decisions to minimize loss of freight, maximize asset utilization and streamline logistics overall.

Similarly, Honeywell has launched its own Connected Freight Solution, which is based on Intel’s new logistics platform. Shippers are able to monitor freight to avoid theft, minimize damage and reduce waste.

Logistics firms struggling

According to research, a staggering 89 percent of logistics and shipment service providers say there’s a real lack of visibility into the status of their assets as they go through the supply chain, according to a 2015 supply chain trends survey by Dimensional Research and sponsored by supply chain management specialist Jabil.

Both Intel and Honeywell are looking to address this challenge. Honeywell’s solution, according to the company, consists of a highly scalable IoT architecture and cost-effective sensors that attached to shipments.

Lots of data

These sensors, when in use, communicate with a cellular or Wi-Fi-enabled gateway that can be used as fixed infrastructure or be sent with the shipment itself.

This system is capable of providing real-time status updates of a shipment’s location, temperature, humidity, shock, vibration, tilt, pressure, proximity and exposure to light.

Logistics service providers and shippers are able to use these alerts to improve decision-making around reducing operational costs, maximizing utilization of associated assets and increasing service levels to customers.

This data is highly granular, Honeywell says, and it can also help companies when it comes to planning and predicting future operations. As a result, they can avoid problems and improve supply chain efficiency.

Improving decision-making

Intel explained that “the data gathered will help industries not just track goods, but also improve business decisions like rerouting if demand shifts or intercepting a damaged shipment.”

“By analyzing data from thousands of shipments, logistics service providers will be able to predict and avoid routes where damage or delays are likely, establishing a more reliable distribution network,” the company explained.

Honeywell to the rescue

Taylor Smith, president of Honeywell’s workflow solutions business, said that shipping companies deal with a number of complex challenges on a daily basis and that its new solution can help them.

“Shippers, logistics providers and retailers are faced with a host of costly freight challenges such as theft, damage, spoilage and delays,” he said.

“This cloud-based solution provides our customers with detailed analytics that helps them plan, anticipate and react immediately to incidents that occur during shipment.”

Support of DHL

Global logistics company DHL has been supporting Honeywell in the development and testing of its new IoT solution, which is now available to companies.

Connor F. Charles, vice president of technology sector for the Americas at the company, said: “We see visibility tracking solutions such as this as an important component to our semiconductor logistics efforts and is something we believe will bring tangible value across other sectors within DHL as well.

“Shipment visibility solutions such as the Connected Freight solution are a critical solution path for logistic service providers to meet the long-term goals of in-transit visibility, security and handling care that are critical elements in industries such as life sciences, semiconductor and others in the future.”